Census-designated place · Harford County, Maryland

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

Aberdeen Proving Ground is a census-designated place in Harford County, Maryland, part of the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area. It has 2,193 residents. Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland has a quality-of-life score of 87 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,960 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maryland it ranks #78 of 334 cities and towns. It ranks best on poverty rate (low), rent as share of income (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), hospital quality rating (low) and restaurants and bars (low).

87Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,960 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maryland: #78 of 334 in MD
Population: 2,193 (2020-2024)
Land area: 11 mi²
Density: 197.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2400175

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety79#3,309/15,637
Economy90#1,628/15,631
Housing—
Health78#3,508/15,609
Healthcare61#6,047/15,650
Environment63#5,713/15,453
Education89#1,667/15,649
Infrastructure83#2,624/15,650
Community73#4,283/15,651
Leisure & amenities33#10,556/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Harford County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Poverty rate · low0.9%
99/100Maryland 9.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Rent as share of income · low19.8%
97/100Maryland 30.8%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low25.9%
96/100Maryland 51.5%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Natural hazard risk · low4.1
94/100Maryland 4.72025Federal Emergency Management AgencyHarford County value
Median household income · high$125,069
89/100Maryland $102,835United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Bachelor's degree or higher · high55.0%
89/100Maryland 43.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high239 min
5/100Maryland 246 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHarford County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Maryland 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHarford County value
Restaurants and bars · low5.3 /10k
13/100Maryland 7.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHarford County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100Maryland 4.2%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Job growth · low-1.0%
27/100Maryland -1.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHarford County value
Social associations · low7.4 /10k
28/100Maryland 8.9 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHarford County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
2,872 (2015-2019) → 2,193 (2020-2024)
−24%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
38.1% (2015-2019) → 25.9% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
43.1% (2015-2019) → 55.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$94,643 (2015-2019) → $125,069 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeImproving
23.7% (2015-2019) → 19.8% (2020-2024)
−3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
2.9% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland improved on 2 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Bachelor's++12 points43.1% → 55.0%
Rent / income−3.9 points23.7% → 19.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.7 min2015-2019	14.7 min2020-2024	−0.1 min	Within the margin of error	48%
Bachelor's degree or higher	43.1%2015-2019	55.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	93%
Broadband subscriptions	94.3%2015-2019	93.3%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
High school diploma or higher	96.7%2015-2019	99.3%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3542015-2019	0.3472020-2024	−0.007	Within the margin of error	57%
Median household income	$94,6432015-2019	$125,0692020-2024	+32%	Within the margin of error	60%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.7%2015-2019	19.8%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Improved	78%
Rent-burdened households	38.1%2015-2019	25.9%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	86%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland itself moved +1.9 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,193 residents (±435)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

833 households (±127)

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $25k1.1%†9
$25k–50k11%†88
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

833 households (±127)

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Maryland share

Own2.8%†23
Rent97%810

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,452 workers (±306)

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Maryland share

Drive alone65%945
Carpool2.8%†40
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Harford County, the county holding most of Aberdeen Proving Ground's residents.

Harford County has 5,636 employer establishments, 213 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Maryland's), with 79,488 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,256. The Census Bureau also counts 21,525 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,636; 21,525 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 213; US 248 · Maryland 230
Paid employees: 79,488
Average annual pay: $55,256; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Harford County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	537	20.3	1.31×More than typical	4,078	$67,188	1,144
Ambulatory health care services	488	18.4	0.88×About typical	4,877	$62,879	1,068
Restaurants and other eating places	373	14.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	8,483	$22,537	77
Construction of buildings	257	9.7	1.28×More than typical	1,320	$73,160	428
Building equipment contractors	229	8.7	1.44×More than typical	1,993	$67,889	274
Lessors of real estate	228	8.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	500	$52,298	2,232
Services to buildings and dwellings	211	8	1.18×About typical	1,723	$42,472	908
Limited-service restaurants	192	7.3	0.90×About typical	3,920	$20,918	45
Computer systems design and related services	154	5.8	1.34×More than typical	3,023	$87,198	212
Management, scientific and technical consulting	153	5.8	0.86×About typical	2,140	$102,373	736
Offices of other health practitioners	152	5.7	0.94×About typical	1,101	$51,223	440
Automotive repair and maintenance	149	5.6	1.12×About typical	758	$51,716	196

Rank places for an industry Open Harford County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 264,739 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $429.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland: $195,901 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $429.6M; −25% vs FY2025
Per resident: $195,901; US $1,995
Sole-source: 13%; US 30%
Single offer: 10%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$184.9M43%
Defense Logistics Agency$95.6M22%
Federal Acquisition Service$82.9M19%
Defense Information Systems Agency$35.5M8.3%
Department of the Air Force$16.2M3.8%
Department of the Navy$13.7M3.2%
Defense Commissary Agency$304.9K0.1%
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services$240.8K0.1%

Top recipients

FAIRWINDS TECHNOLOGIES LLC$112.8M26%
MANTECH ADVANCED SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, INC.$62.2M14%
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC$22.5M5.2%
QED SYSTEMS, LLC$19.5M4.5%
CACI, INC. - FEDERAL$19.2M4.5%

Spending by fiscal year

493.3MFY2017
570.3MFY2018
556.9MFY2019
573.3MFY2020
503.2MFY2021
425.4MFY2022
506.7MFY2023
547.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$85.5M20%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$72.4M17%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$64.3M15%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$58.1M14%
Other support activities for transportation · 4889$56.2M13%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, so they do not add up across cities.

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland's figures are part of those of Harford County, MD ($1.7B in FY2026), never added to them: 26% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Aberdeen Proving Ground is mostly in Harford County.

See federal money in Harford County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Andy HarrisR-MD-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 2.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Harford County87100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD69

Other cities and towns in Harford County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2400175

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends